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The political moves to screw the state of Minnesota out of its land in the BWCA have reached a new low. This time there is actually a move to sell some of the most prime real estate in the state for $375 an acre. What a joke.
We’ve heard this song and dance before and we’re not buying the B.S. and we don’t care which attorney tells us they know the law better than everyone else and the land has to be sold, not traded for other federal land. We’re not buying this rhetoric.
This position is surely going to be seen as offensive to a certain group of organizations whose members are proud to oppose mining in all forms including helium mining. Really? Helium? This is the cleanest extraction of a natural resource ever and yet here are the same groups telling us the end of the world is coming…again.
We strongly support the efforts by our local State Rep. Roger Skraba (R-Ely) to inject common sense and make sure a generational screwing over doesn’t occur again (see sock pointing to determine BWCA lines).
Skraba introduced HF1425, which requires the state to swap the 80,000 acres with an equivalent- sized tract outside of the BWCA. This would mean that rather than a one-time cash payment of $30 million ($375 per acre), the state would gain new trust land that could be logged, mined, or used for other purposes with longer-term benefits for the state.
Now let’s go back to that ridiculous figure of $375 an acre, something even the most ardent supporter was apologizing for recently. The real problem is that there isn’t a high enough price that can be placed on this land by appraisers. There have already been multiple attempts and this one is off by at least a factor of 10.
That is just another reason why Skraba is right and the opposition is wrong. This needs to be a land swap, both legally and logically. At least for those whose logic isn’t tainted.
